Balance Beam, Women

Despite being a strong balance beam performer, Simone Biles had not yet won an Olympic title in this event, placing third in both 2016 (after a trip to the floor) and 2020 (suffering from mental health issues). She had returned to gymnastics in 2023 with a world title on the beam, however, her fourth. Defending champion Guan Chenchen did not compete in Paris. Remarkably, four Japanese women had won medals in the 2021 and 2022 World Championships (including both golds), but neither of them competed in Paris.

Leader after qualifying was China’s Zhou Yaqin, runner-up at the 2023 Worlds, ahead of Biles and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. On the error-prone beam, however, this proved a poor prediction for the final, which turned out to be an error festival. Zhou narrowly avoided falling but had to grab the beam, costing her precious points, and leading to a 14.100 score. Suni Lee (USA) and Brazil’s Júlia Soares fell. Italy’s Manila Esposito had a major wobble and earned a 14.000 score, although it would bring her a bronze, and then Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fell twice in her routine. Italy’s Alice D’Amato was the first with a stable routine and, with 14.366, she moved into first place. Then came Biles, who had a great opening to her routine, before slipping off the beam after a jump. The final gymnast, all-around silver medalist and 2023 beam medalist at the Worlds, Rebeca Andrade, placed just outside the medals.

D’Amato’s gold was a surprise, particularly as she had never won a medal in the event internationally, although she had won all-around and uneven bar medals. Italy had only won one Olympic medal in a women’s individual event (Vanessa Ferrari on the floor in 2020) and now won gold and bronze in a single event. It was also the first Italian gymnastics gold since Igor Cassina in 2004.